Phone Bank with SURJ National

SURJ National is hosting phone banks to elect progressive champion Zohran Mamdani,  who is running to be Mayor of NYC, and to take back the the Virginia Governorship from MAGA by backing Democrat Abigail Spanberger.

Phone bank signups:

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Logistics:

  • These phone banks are online on the Zoom platform. Log into the call on Zoom on your computer and bring your phone to make the calls (if you only have one device, still come!).
  • SURJ has a robust training on the call to give you all the information you need– a script, technical support, and coaching throughout.
  • Returners can start early.
  • You will receive an email with orientation materials ahead of time.
  • Please note the time zone for call time.

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Feeling Unsure?

  • Our model works – learn from the best! Our phone banks have one of the highest rates of success in the country. No matter whether you’re brand new caller or a seasoned organizer, if you join our banks, you can trust that you are putting your effort into a method that works. And you’ll get to learn powerful organizing skills from seasoned leaders!
  • SURJ conversations are based on open-ended questions and deep listening. You do not need to be an expert on the issues or a candidate – our phone banks are successful because we deeply connect with voters and make them feel heard.
  • Want to hear what a phonebank is like? Check out this video interviewing SURJ phonebankers.

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Context

We are living in a historic time of the consolidation of authoritarian, billionaire-funded power in this country. At the same time, at every turn, regular people have risen up, fought back, and set a vision for what working people deserve: affordable healthcare, good schools, the right to live in our communities without fear. Since Trump’s election, SURJ has been a part of meeting this moment, from training thousands of white people in strategic noncompliance to fight ICE raids to recruiting thousands of newly-activated people into our movement.

As they defund the social safety net and peddle more racist lies, millions of people are increasingly feeling the effects of the billionaire agenda. We know this fight is on multiple fronts, and this fall we have an opportunity to harness the energy of the streets and rising resentment towards November’s elections – to not only wrest power from MAGA, but to put candidates in office who are willing to stand up to Trump and fight for working class people.

Virginia has never gone for Trump in a presidential election, but in 2022 elected a MAGA-aligned former CEO worth nearly $500 million to the governor’s office who has opened the gates in Virginia for Trump’s agenda – from pushing a sweeping anti-trans, anti-DEI agenda across the state to rolling back environmental protections. We’ll be organizing white working class Virginian’s to stop MAGA’s state-by-state takeover.

This race will affect millions of working class people this year and help set the tone going into the 2026 midterms. Alongside our partners across the country, this is the time for our movements to offer a bold vision and bring our people into it.

Get the Flock Out of our Cities! Next Action Jan 13th

ALERT: GTFO is on the Santa Cruz City Council agenda for THIS TUESDAY, January 13th. Emails requested in advance and estimated time to show up is 3:30.
Details here: https://mailchi.mp/596feaeecdec/gtfo-dec8th-6120640?e=5b2fd2acc2

From our January 2026 newsletter:

At an upcoming January meeting, the Santa Cruz City Council will have an item on the agenda regarding Flock ALPRs (automated license plate readers).  We need your help to continue to pressure the Council to cancel their contract with Flock Safety – Get the Flock Out of Santa Cruz!

Get the Flock Out is against Flock ALPRs and their massive invasion of privacy in Santa Cruz County. The fight has become more urgent with the current federal administration’s attempts to terrorize all immigrants, the LGBTQ+ community, journalists, activists and women; and to build huge databases with detailed information about the entire population (yes, that includes you).

As reported in multiple news articles, our local police departments, including the Santa Cruz and Capitola PD’s, have repeatedly violated state and local sanctuary law by allowing ICE, CBP, and out-of-state law enforcement agencies access to the databases fed and controlled by Flock Safety, a nefarious corporation that is unserious about data security, with close ties to the Trump administration. We have also discovered that Flock cameras and/or databases are easily hacked and may be available to criminal and foreign actors on the dark web. The only way to guarantee that our personal information will not be shared with wrongdoers is to turn off the cameras.

The Santa Cruz City Council will be discussing the Flock cameras at an upcoming meeting. We don’t yet know if this will be on the agenda on Jan 13, or if this matter will be delayed until the meeting on Jan 27th. We are working with members of the council to find out when Flock will be up for a vote – we will send out another email blast when we know the details. 
 

From now until then, we ask you to continue to pressure the Council to cancel the Flock contract. Email citycouncil@santacruzca.gov (Note: email submitted to this address is public record.)

Please sign our Change.org petition and share it with your friends. 

Please pencil in Jan 13th and Jan 27th on your calendar, and be ready to move.  

For lots more information about ALPRs, including an action toolkit, see https://www.gettheflockout.org/.

Background

Flock automated license plate readers (ALPRs) are now installed in at least 5,000 communities across the United States. Police and sheriffs departments are already misusing the data collected, and highly questionable searches and data transfers have occurred in high numbers. 

ICE and Homeland Security are accessing this data–indeed, the readers in the city of Santa Cruz were supposed to be obtained through a Department of Homeland Security grant, but that money came out of the general fund instead. Now, the SCPD is hoping to install 14 more ALPRs through DHS grants. One woman was tracked through the national Flock system by a Texas police department after having an abortion. Police departments and federal agencies already share a casual culture of camaraderie and data sharing.

Our city councils and other government bodies should remove these cameras ASAP. We do not need to contribute to the mass surveillance infrastructure in this nation, especially under an authoritarian regime. See this Moment of Truth Dispatch article for more.

Actions you can take to remove ALPRs from your community:

  1. Sign on to our campaign! Please email us at GTFOSCC@proton.me to add your name, title and/or organization as a supporter of this campaign (or if you have questions)
  2. Send a letter to Santa Cruz, Watsonville, and Capitola City Councils. Please copy/paste the template in ths toolkit. Add/edit/amend as you see fit.
    • Do you live elsewhere in Santa Cruz County, and want to email your elected officials? Click here.

THANK YOU FOR HELPING KEEP ALL OF US SAFE BY SPEAKING OUT AGAINST ALPRS!!!

ICONS: Black Women Illuminated

Saturday  •  Sept 20  •  8 PM  •  Ticketed Event • Wheelchair accessible
The 418 Project • 155 S. River St •  Santa Cruz

A cabaret-style performance celebrating the legacy of 20th-century Black women artists.

This evocative tribute is more than a show. It is a living testament to Black women who broke barriers, redefined artistic expression, and asserted their rightful place in history. It is a ceremony of remembrance and a passing of the torch, illuminating the path forward for the generations to come.

Through a dynamic fusion of song, dance, aerial artistry, burlesque, and spoken word, this all-Black women and gender-expansive cast from across California brings to life a vibrant, embodied exploration of lineage, liberation, and unapologetic creative power. Interwoven throughout the show, short documentary films reveal the artists’ reflections on their inspirations and journeys, reminding us to honor our own voices.

ONE NIGHT ONLY

The velvet-lit speakeasy opens its doors, with live jazz from the Mo’Zaic Band ushering us back in time as we travel through a kaleidoscope of eras and inspirations. Dress to the nines and experience a ritual of connection: to yourself, to each other, and to the foremothers who came before.
 

TICKETS HERE

“Compensation” Film Screening and Discussion – TWO SHOWINGS

Santa Cruz Black’s BLACK on Screen film offering for September

Tuesday • September 16 • Capitola Library • 2005 Wharf Rd • Capitola
Wednesday, September 17 • Resource Center for Nonviolence • 612 Ocean St • Santa Cruz
Doors open at 6 pm, film at 6:30 pm
Wheelchair accessible • Donation • RSVP requested

What does it mean to fall into a forbidden love? When your friends don’t understand or approve of your choices? What does it mean to live fully, despite fatal epidemics, whether AIDS of the 1990s or tuberculosis of the previous century?

How do we navigate the intersection of Blackness, deafness, happiness, status, and class identity?   

These are the questions the film, Compensation, by Zeinabu irene Davis poses for her characters, one century apart. Part of the Los Angeles Rebellion movement of independent films, 2025 is the first year audiences have been invited to see it as a theatrical release and newly restored in 4K. Deftly woven into this narrative film is archival footage which anchors the viewing experience in history.

Community discussion to follow the screening. Watch trailer HERE (scroll down for trailer)

This is Santa Cruz Black’s BLACK On Screen offering for September.
RSVP for the Capitola showing HERE
RSVP for the RCNV showing HERE

Redistribute Wealth: Center for Farmworker Families

Each month SURJ Santa Cruz County suggests a local organization that is doing excellent work strengthening racial and economic justice in our county. If you’re able, please consider making a donation– healthy for you, healthy for our community. Thank you!

The Center for Farmworker Families commits to raising awareness about the challenging circumstances farmworker families face, while actively working to improve financial stability, physical health, and overall well-being.

They realize this purpose by engaging in the following activities:

  • Educating the public about farmworkers’ challenging circumstances.
  • Supporting projects that promote financial and nutritional well-being and independence.
  • Examining and advocating for changes to the federal and state legal structure that governs farmworkers.
  • Promoting the educational advancement of farmworkers and their family members.
  • Participating in research and education. 

DONATE HERE

Fierce Vulnerabilities with Kazu Haga

Event 1: Book Talk + Community Gathering
Friday, August 22 | 6:00–7:30pm

Event 2: Fierce Vulnerability Training + Lunch
Saturday, August 23 | 10:00am–4:00pm

Resource Center for Nonviolence • 612 Ocean St •  Santa Cruz
Wheelchair accessible


Resource Center for Nonviolence is honored to welcome author and activist Kazu Haga for two transformative events deeply grounded in his new book, Fierce Vulnerability: Healing from Trauma, Emerging through Collapse. These gatherings offer powerful opportunities to explore healing, resilience, and courageous community building. 

Friday’s event, Book Talk + Community Gathering, will be an evening of reflection, Q&A, and conversation centered on the themes of Fierce Vulnerability.

Saturday’s event, Fierce Vulnerability Training + Lunch will be an immersive daylong workshop with Kazu Haga, offering practical tools for healing trauma, embracing vulnerability, and building resilient movements.

Redistribute Wealth: Wealth Redistribution as Repair, Return, Solidarity & Love

Each month SURJ Santa Cruz County suggests a local organization that is doing excellent work strengthening racial and economic justice in our county. If you’re able, please consider making a donation– healthy for you, healthy for our community. Thank you!

Redistributing White Wealth Santa Cruz County (formerly known as Reparations Santa Cruz) is a collective political education and wealth redistribution project that acts from the belief that collective liberation depends on the liberation of wealth and resources that have been accumulated and hoarded by generations of European-descended colonizers in the US. This anti-capitalist redistribution project seeks to address not only the legacy of historic anti-Black racism but also the contemporary reality of the racial wealth gap. As a project of SURJ Santa Cruz County, we provide a platform for those benefiting from racial capitalism or experiencing class privilege in some way to use a reparations lens to facilitate wealth redistribution to Black individuals and communities with no strings attached. Further, we are working to strengthen a solidarity economy that celebrates our interdependence as our greatest asset.

We acknowledge that no amount of money received can heal the enduring trauma of anti-Black racism. We acknowledge that no amount of money given can absolve non-Black people of the responsibility to practice anti-racism. And, we acknowledge the crucial role of wealth redistribution in Black liberation and, indeed, in the liberation of us all.

Ready to move money for redistribution? You can contribute directly via RWW’s Chuffed platform. Email redistwhitewealth@gmail.com if you’d prefer to mail a check or contribute via a channel other than Chuffed. RWW plans to distribute proceeds contributed through RWW’s Chuffed platform as of August 31, 2025 to local Black-led organizations/projects that serve, uplift and directly support Black residents of Santa Cruz County as well as to the GoFundMe Campaign for Thairie Ritchie. 

“Since I Been Down” Film Screening and Discussion – TWO SHOWINGS

Tuesday • August 19 • Capitola Library • 2005 Wharf Rd • Capitola
Wednesday, August 20 • Resource Center for Nonviolence • 612 Ocean St • Santa Cruz
Doors open at 6 pm, film at 6:30 pm
Wheelchair accessible • Donation • RSVP requested

Gilda Sheppard’s film Since I Been Down brings to life the praxis of abolition within but not confined by prison walls. To be down, as this film shows, is not just to be locked up but to bear the power of knowledge and transformation in ways that in the words of a teacher/student “transcends this cage.”

“The more that we begin to educate ourselves, the more empowered we become, the less manipulated we can be, the less oppressed we can be.” —Kimonti Carter

There will be light refreshments before the film and community discussion following the screening. Watch trailer HERE


RSVP for the Capitola showing HERE
RSVP for the RCNV showing HERE

Updated: Actions for Gaza

Jewish Voice for Peace – Power Half-Hour for Gaza: DAILY • 12:00 – 12:30 PM  Financial Support for Gaza • (suggested by Students for Justice in Palestine at UCSC)

Jewish Voice for Peace – Power Half-Hour for Gaza: DAILY • 12:00 – 12:30 PM Location: Click here for info and to register
Sponsor: Jewish Voice for Peace
Description: URGENT: We need all hands on deck now to act. Many of us are grieving, angry, scared and confused. Wherever you are, you are needed urgently now to act to stave off imminent genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. We must act together to demand the U.S. immediately de-escalate to prevent imminent genocide after 75 years of Israeli military occupation and apartheid. Invite your friends to this daily Power Half Hour to take action in political community. Call on Congress to demand they stop fueling violence. Get messaging resources and pointers for having the hard conversations with people in your life. Intervene in the media narrative beating the drums of war against Palestinians. Come to channel grief and fear into action to stop the bloodshed. All are welcome. All are needed.Many of us are grieving, angry, scared, and confused. Wherever you are, you are needed urgently now to act to interrupt the genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Join Jewish Voice for Peace in channeling our grief and fear into action. “Power Half-Hour for Gaza” is being held on Zoom daily. Call on Congress to demand they stop fueling violence, get messaging resources for having hard conversations with people in your life, and help counter the media narratives beating the drums of war against Palestinians.

Financial Support for Gaza • (suggested by Students for Justice in Palestine at UCSC)
Palestinians in Gaza are facing the final and most horrific stage of starvation. Children and adults are suffering organ failure, brain injury and sudden cardiac arrest. Palestinians are reliant on our donations to provide food and water to their families and communities. Please donate now, and sign up to be a monthly donor so that Palestinians in Gaza can continue to live.
Hot meals 4 Starved Palestinian Kids in north Gaza
The Sameer Project

Book Launch, Emile Suotonye DeWeaver

Friday  • July 18 (NEW DATE)  • 6-7 PM
Institute of Arts and Sciences • 100 Panetta Ave•  Santa Cruz
Wheelchair accessible  • Free
Join author Emile Suotonye DeWeaver for a book talk and signing of his first book, Ghost in the Criminal Justice Machine: Reform, White Supremacy and an Abolitionist Future. 

During his twenty-one years in prison, DeWeaver covertly organized to pass legislation impacting juveniles in California’s criminal legal system; was a culture writer for Easy Street Magazine; and co-founded Prison Renaissance, an organization centering incarcerated voices and incarcerated leadership. DeWeaver draws on these experiences to interrogate the central premise of reform efforts, including prisoner rehabilitation programs, arguing that they demand self-abnegation, entrench white supremacy, and ignore the role of structural oppression.